File No. 811.34537/42.
The American Minister to the Secretary of State.
Habana, January 14, 1911.
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt this morning of your instruction No. 212,1 etc., and I have accordingly just has a conversation with Sr. Sanguily, the Cuban secretary of state, in regard to it. * * *1 During the conversation Sr. Sanguily referred to a statement said by the papers to have been made by Mr. Dickinson, our Secretary of War, some time ago, to the effect that the United States had claims outstanding against Cuba for the maintenance of military forces during the intervention of 1906–1909, which, he said, had caused a good deal of uneasiness. He said that he could not see how Cuba had any responsibility in regard to this, as the forces were sent by the United States because we thought them necessary, and that we had ourselves kept them here without any agreement with Cuba as to the length of their stay and had withdrawn them when we saw fit to do so. He said that some statement in regard to the nonexistence of any such claim would be very welcome and would facilitate negotiations. The Cuban public, he said, is suspicious with regard to any and every transaction, and that this suspicion could be disarmed if it should be shown that Cuba was to receive real benefits.
I have the honor to recommend the foregoing to your serious and early consideration and to request to be furnished with explicit instructions as to what we want and the conditions we are prepared to make, as soon as possible.
I have, etc.,